Chapter 124: Battles Are Usually Accompanied by Pain (Part 2)

“Everyone from Rhine Magic Academy, close your eyes,” the referee announced as the match began. Ruby immediately raised his hand and called out. Trusting their teacher, all the students in the stands shut their eyes. The teachers hesitated for a moment; a few closed their eyes as well, while the more curious ones kept watching.

With a sharp ‘bang,’ Ruby pulled out a transparent vial from his pocket, pressed a button, and tossed it in front of Hal. The battle mage hadn’t even reacted before a blinding flash seared his eyes. Covering his face, he howled like a wounded beast.

“Ah, my eyes!”

Hal struggled to open his eyes, trying to make out what was before him, but could only see a blurry figure approaching. Despite the poor visibility, his battle instincts were sharp—he swung his staff at Ruby based on feeling alone.

Unfortunately, Hal’s swing was far too slow for Ruby. Utilizing his excellent agility, Ruby dodged the attack and ruthlessly struck Hal’s face with his knee. It was unavoidable; Hal’s muscular frame left no easy targets, and Ruby didn’t want to strike vital areas like Ximei had. So, he settled for a blow to the face.

“Well done, victory,” Ruby nodded with self-satisfaction as Hal staggered back, two lines of blood running from his nose. He casually removed the magical mirror that Delagon had conjured.

“That’s not good at all! What were you thinking?”

Magiona suddenly appeared behind him, hitting his head hard and scolding him.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to see me defeat the bald guy?”

“Couldn’t you have avoided such underhanded tactics?”

Magiona grabbed Ruby’s ear, clearly frustrated. She wanted a real fight, a genuine display of skill to win—not a dramatic instant knockout like this.

“Using tools to win is normal, isn’t it? He used them too.”

“Big brother! Big brother! You scoundrel! I’m going to kill you!”

Hal’s tough younger brother, Hart, clutched his fallen sibling’s body with tears streaming down his face, ready to fight Ruby to the death. Thankfully, several black hands emerged from his shadow, restraining the towering figure.

“Calm down, Ruby didn’t use magic. These are just like your battle mage weapons—his own tools.”

The vice principal, who had been playing peacemaker all day, was surprised that Ruby had defeated the opposing academy’s head instructor with a single blow. That flash of light was deadly; if he hadn’t shielded his eyes with shadow magic in time, he might have fallen victim too.

“I’ll do it. I’ll avenge my brother by twisting you like a pretzel!”

Hart’s eyes were bloodshot with fury. If he didn’t defeat Ruby today, he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Rudol could only resign himself and look to Ruby for his decision.

“No problem.”

Ruby nodded. Since the opponent had been caught off guard and hadn’t even done a proper warm-up, he had another trick he wanted to test.

“Come on, I won’t repeat my brother’s mistakes. I’ve trained enough to sense positions by sound alone. Let’s see what moves you’ve got.”

Hart closed his eyes, ready to fight Ruby head-on. Though he lost his sight, it prevented Ruby from using sneaky tricks, but it also meant he was now on the defensive.

Ruby thought it was a clever move—at least the flash grenade was useless now. He deliberately made some footsteps. Hearing the sound, Hart lunged with his staff. Just as his face came into striking range, Ruby nimbly dodged and sprayed a can of his special formula at Hart’s face.

Hart sneezed and coughed violently; his airways felt like they were on fire. Tears and mucus blurred his face, and he couldn’t speak. Ruby, kind-hearted despite everything, took out his homemade stun baton and knocked Hart unconscious.

“Good, another win. Ladies, take note—this is how you properly use the anti-assault spray and stun baton I gave you.”

Removing the gas mask Delagon had conjured, Ruby nodded proudly and took the chance to promote his products. His carefree demeanor suddenly made the students feel that Ruby was quite formidable.

“Not at all! What exactly are you trying to do?”

At the same spot and from the same angle, the same battle mage girl struck Ruby’s head sharply again.

“Magiona, hitting the same spot repeatedly hurts.”

“Shut up! Apologize to these two battle mages!”

“Don’t worry, it’s not fatal.”

Ruby and Magiona were recklessly showing off in the arena. The students from Bayana Fighting God Academy had lost their morale; both teachers were instantly defeated. All eyes turned to the tiny girl—her status and position were the highest here.

“Teacher Ruby, may I spar with you?”

Chiya showed no fear after seeing the two teachers fall; instead, she was intrigued by Ruby. A faint smile played at her lips as she approached and asked.

“Sure, but after the match you have to tell me why you were there this morning.”

Ruby thought for a moment. He was still concerned about Chiya going to find Aqua earlier, so he set this condition to protect the naïve mermaid girl.

Magiona, however, looked displeased. Ruby had somehow charmed this fox-like girl without her knowing. That was impressively fast.

“Also, I have a condition. No strange gadgets. Only your own strength. I will suppress my power to your level and won’t use magic. I can sense you’re strong.”

Chiya was confident in her abilities, but both teachers had been defeated due to lack of intelligence. She also saw from Ruby’s command of Ximei that he had anticipated Kerry’s moves—he was no ordinary person.

“Understood.”

Ruby agreed, then pulled out a dozen strange bottles and gadgets from his clothes, spreading them across the ground. The students from Rhine Magic Academy immediately labeled him a dangerous individual.

“Then let’s begin.”

Ruby had no handy weapons. Since Chiya was skilled with a staff, he would use one as well. Delagon’s transformation was clear—taking the magical mirror from his head, it instantly became a sleek black staff. Ruby signaled the petite girl to start.

‘Clang!’

Being small had its advantages—Chiya’s speed was lightning-fast. Combined with her finely honed body, she seemed to vanish into thin air. Ordinary students wouldn’t even react before being knocked away, but Ruby’s reflexes were excellent. He held his staff firmly by his side, blocking her thunderous strike.

Chiya hadn’t lied; she didn’t use the water manipulation power she employed this morning. To her, the contest was about technique, not brute force. Seeing Ruby, a flicker of excitement lit her eyes as she swung her staff in a fierce, varied barrage—slashes, chops, jabs, lifts, and twirls—all aimed at Ruby.

Ruby took his time defending. Several seemingly dangerous situations were skillfully parried with his staff. Students from both academies had never witnessed such a thrilling duel and were glued to the spectacle.

“Falling Flower Palm!”

During a forward thrust, Chiya switched her staff to her left hand and swung it. Ruby naturally blocked with his own staff, the two clashing with sparks flying. But almost simultaneously, Chiya’s right hand pressed against Ruby’s chest. To avoid injury, he backed off, dropping his guard.

“Combat Skill: Meteor Flash Strike!”

Seizing the moment, Chiya leapt high, gripping the staff’s end with both hands as she smashed downward. Ruby raised his staff overhead to block, but quickly realized this wasn’t an ordinary strike—it was a combat skill. The staff’s movement created multiple afterimages, raining down like a meteor shower.

The relentless strikes pinned Ruby down, his body sinking under the pressure until he knelt on one knee. If he couldn’t endure, he would surely lose. Meanwhile, Chiya showed no signs of fatigue.

If Ruby had to describe the feeling, it was like resisting a raging waterfall—one wrong move and he’d be swept away. But humans have always loved to swim upstream. Not just humans—there’s a creature that does the same. Once it conquers the rushing waters, it soars into the sky as a dragon.

Ruby didn’t sit idle. In this kneeling stance, he gathered strength. When Chiya’s assault faltered even a fraction of a second, he surged upward, legs pushing powerfully as he met her staff midair. Sparks flew again as the two staffs clashed. Ruby’s well-timed counterattack forced Chiya’s staff aside, and his own staff gently tapped her head.

“I call this move, ‘Carp Leaping the Dragon Gate.’”